Draymond Green Rips Cavaliers for Major Issue in Loss to Knicks
Draymond Green sounded off about the lack of Cavaliers players sticking to their defensive matchups in their loss to the Knicks.
The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed on the verge of completing a double-digit blowout win at Madison Square Garden in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the New York Knicks had other plans. A fourth-quarter comeback led to a 115-104 win in overtime, despite New York trailing by as many as 22 points. According to Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, that was due to a major issue with players refusing to stay with their defensive matchups.
He praised veteran guard Dennis Schröder, but put other Cavs players on blast, claiming they aren’t willing to stick with a defensive assignment. “Dennis Schröder wanted to take on that challenge, Dennis Schröder was taking on that challenge. When Dennis Schröder left the game, things got a little bleak.
Because you got guys in there that don’t really want that challenge, they don’t want to fight through the screen and say, ‘That’s my matchup, I want to stop this guy. ’ They don’t do it,” he said during a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show. ” More news: Dan Gilbert Sends Strong Message on Cavs After Game 1 Loss to Knicks SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 17: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors looks on in the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Chase Center on January 17, 2026, in San Francisco, California.
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) “I watch this every night in these big time playoff games of guys who ‘man I’m a defender I want to defend and you switch every [expletive] time it’s an opportunity to. ’ Every time. And I don’t understand it, I don’t understand it.